Aasthik (आस्तिक) is a Sanskrit word which literally means Believer. I feel that to achieve anything in life, you need to believe. Whom you choose to believe - God, yourself, your abilities, ideals, principles, fate, luck or destiny is your choice. This blog includes posts on all sorts of things- technology, programming, day to day experiences, GOD, religion, spirituality, science, philosophy & theology.

Friday, April 26, 2013

Shreesh Jadhav : The Real Life Story of an IIT Topper.

NOTE: I read this article on a different blog. Thought it can be inspiration for others so sharing in my blog.

Rahul Awasthi comes away impressed after meeting his
classmate and IIT topper, who earns no salary, but has the highest job
satisfaction.

So here's the original Article:

I read in a corporate
bestseller sometime back that the highest job satisfaction is enjoyed by
those in least-paying jobs, like in NGOs and social organisations. This
sounded ironical, but still exciting enough to mull over, for those of
us in the corporate world, chasing a mirage called job satisfaction and
often confusing it with high salaries.

Five
years ago, I was posted in Kolkata to look after the eastern region.
This is where I had the soul-stirring experience of meeting Shreesh at
Belur Math, the Ramkrishna Mission's headquarters. Away from the city's
boisterous roads, Belur is tranquility personified as its sylvan
surroundings are placed close to the mighty Hooghly. It had been 18
years since Shreesh and I had passed out from IIT, Kanpur, where we
spent our days in neighbouring hostel rooms, and 14 years since we had
last met. In the course of lunch that day at Belur, he unfolded his
post-IIT story, which marked a turning point for my own view towards
life.

Shreesh Jadhav was ranked second
across India in the JEE and completed his B.Tech in computer science
with a perfect 10 CPI. A recipient of the President's gold medal at IIT,
he spurned all offers of plum scholarships from top foreign
universities. Instead, he went on to do his Ph.D from IIT, Kanpur. As
his neighbour, I was familiar with Shreesh's leanings towards Swami
Vivekananda and Ramkrishna Paramhans. Often, when I barged into his room
for a chat session, I would find him deep into reading their teachings.
These had an impact on his day-to-day actions as well.

An
example of his austerity was the fact that he managed to pass those
four years with just a pair of white kurta-pyjamas. Top brain that he
was, the toughest assignments were cracked by him in a jiffy and his
answers matched up to the second decimal of the model answers put up
later outside the exam hall. He also found time to take up the cause of
mess workers, which temporarily invited the ire of IIT authorities, but
eventually bore results. Through his Vivekananda Samiti, he taught
several of the mess workers' children, besides other poor employees of
IIT.

With three sisters, he was the only son
of his parents, and the entire family along with many of us, egged him
on to study abroad. I occasionally mocked his convictions and told his
parents that he would eventually succumb to the lure of dollars, just
like several of his batch mates. But, he couldn't be deterred from his
single-minded pursuit of serving humanity. He would explain, "Just like
Silicon Valley, social sectors too desperately need intelligent people."

He continues to positively impact the
lowest rung of the social ladder. Recently, he helped save the life of
12-year-old Sarita, who developed a hole in her heart. Her operation in
Bangalore cost Rs 3 lakh and on reading Shreesh's email, I had
contributed my bit, but was doubtful if he would meet the target. But,
as I recently found out, Sarita was back home in Kanpur after a
successful surgery, making me put my faith in Shreesh's words that
"there are a lot of good people in the world, we just need to reach out
to them".

Unmarried, he has dedicated his
entire life towards a social cause. He joined the Ramkrishna Mission
after his doctorate and, by now, has taught computer science to several
thousand students at their university, besides managing various projects
spread across the country. He also humbly believes that Belur Math has
given him the opportunity to achieve his mission. Yet, his journey
continues.

Shreesh's story is beyond
inspiration. When I look around at my batch-mates, many of whom head
companies, I consider Shreesh the biggest success story of IIT. His
story should be a catalyst for all those who want to bridge the social
abyss created by market forces and government inaction. As I write a
cheque for Rs 15,000 for my three-year-old son's quarterly fees, I'm
reminded of an education system gone horrendously wrong. Unlike many of
us who keep trodding known paths, Shreesh Maharaj - as he is popularly
known in Belur - has clearly found his own path and left a trail.

2 comments:

The fact that he hails from my home state makes me prouder. Shreesh Jadhav completed his schooling from St. Paul's Raipur and then proceeded to study Engineering at NIT Raipur (then known as GCET) after cracking the 2nd position in MPPET 1984 (Note that he chose GCET over REC Bhopal). At the end of the first year, he topped the Merit list with 89% marks (its a big thing in NIT Raipur. With the new Grading system it should amount to nearly 9.9/10). All this while preparing again for JEE, which he passed with flying colours (AIR 2 in JEE). I first heard about him when I was studying at NIT Raipur from the Physics HOD (who happened to be his guide and mentor).

Everyone is entighteled to his or her own opinion. I respect your views. However...

Why are you involving regionality in this? You're proud because he's from your home state? Why can't you be proud that he's from India?

And by saying he chose GEC Raipur over REC Bhopal are you trying to say that NIT Raipur is better?

Let me tell you one thing - I hail from Raipur. My Grandfather graduated from the 1st batch of GEC Raipur (not NIT Raipur) along with Dr D S Bal who became the first Director of NIT Raipur. My maternal aunt graduated from GEC in 1998.

I too took up admission in NIT Raipur in year 2006 (the year it became NIT Raipur) because it was my hometown. Since my Grandfather was a close friend and former classmate of Dr D S Bal everyone knew him. Whenever I took his name I got special treamment from all old faculty members. Even seniors were afraid to rag me!!

Whenever anyone tried ragging me I told that Dr Bal was my uncle and the look on their faces can't be described in words.

Anyways... coming to the main point.. its good to be proud of being an alumnus of your college (infact one must be) but its useless to try to prove its superiority (especially in places where its not).

I left NIT Raipur and gave IIT-JEE and AIEEE again... although I am not a 2nd Ranker as Shreesh but I got admission into Birla Institute of Technology which is good enough for me.

To conclude... do not spoil the achievements of Shreesh Jhadhav by bringing regionality and personal ego into picture...